Love? Seriously?

I would like to warn you now that this post isn't about deep and meaningful thoughts concerning the concept of love.
I don't do that. I leave it to you to make your own mind up as I'll never do it for you. In fact, if I could tell you what it was, I would be writing lyrics.
This is about shop assistants feeling it's acceptable to call me, 'love'. It's something I really have no objection to, just so long as the person doing it isn't a foetus masquerading as a grown-up.
A couple of months ago, I went to buy a new computer. My husband was with me for the entire time that the patronising sales person was with us. He rolled his eyes when we asked if we could have a discount for buying a laptop at the same time. He squeezed out words along the lines of, 'We can't get away with the same discounts we used to give in the '90s'. This was all very well but if I had to guess, I would say that he was probably born in 1995.
No sooner had my husband left the shop to get the car, the sales wally started to call me 'love'.
Not being one to back down from a challenge, albeit a very childish one, I then proceeded to address him as 'cupcake', 'darling', 'sweetheart', and I'll even admit to throwing in a 'sonny'.
Well he started it. And I'm pretty sure that I won.

How do they get away with that?

Something I have never understood is a booking fee for tickets. The price quoted should be the price without any extras being added on.
Have you ever bought a cup of coffee from somewhere, seen that the price for a latte was £3.50, ordered and then been asked for more money? I've never had someone pass me a cup of coffee and say something similar to, "That's £5 please. Don't forget the ordering fee."
I understand that some countries add tax to the price advertised at the point of sale but where in the world adds a drinking fee or a cup fee or an ordering fee?
There is a happy note to my rant in the form of St James Theatre, 12 Palace Street, London SW1E 5JA. And yes they have a website  www.stjamestheatre.co.uk and if you're in London or thinking of paying our capital a visit, please take a look. Not only are they booking fee and credit card fee free, they'll even post your tickets in the UK for £1.00.
I'm not even sure how they manage to cover the price of the stamp and envelope.
Just as important as anything else is that it's a brilliant theatre with lovely staff.
See - I told you it had a happy ending.

I have no idea what I'm doing

It's been a very long time since my last post. Much has happened, some of it is even interesting. I've tried to keep up with technology but I continually embarrass myself.
I miss the days of simplicity when I could take my camera on holiday and snap away to my heart's content and then on my return, take the rolls of films to Boots. Someone with a clue about life would print the pictures and I would count down the minutes until the hour was up before rushing back to get my photos.
Now, I get home and with a sense of dread, I plug the camera into the computer, turn it on and off again, swear, get some wine, run a bath, threaten the computer, shout, 'For crying out loud', or something stronger, get more wine and then perform a much less funny version of Basil Fawlty when his car broke down and he thrashed it with a branch.
We've recently got back from a fantastic holiday in Africa. I have managed to get my photos on the computer, but this has given me a new problem - I've bought a new computer.
If you're reading this (and thank you for taking the time to) and you see a picture of Victoria Falls, an elephant, giraffe or a zebra, I've had a good day as far as technology is concerned. The chances are that it was a fluke and I won't remember how I managed it for next time.

Getting away with murder

Over the last nineteen years, I've worked on a lot of murders. I can't discuss or disclose the details of any of them, of course, but I remember them all. One thought that has often occurred to me is why those who deal with murder in their professional capacity, such as police officers, crime scene investigators, paramedics, scientists, don't commit more murders.
Perhaps they do and just don't get caught. That's a very frightening thought.
I suppose that it comes down to being able to cope mentally after the deed, rather than the practicalities of planning and carrying out a killing.
How long would you be able to live with yourself if you took another life? I know that I'd almost instantly go insane but I wanted to explore the area of historic murders so I wrote the second in the DC Nina Foster series.

Remember, Remember

Have a good feeling about 2015

On the whole, 2014 treated me very kindly. There were a few minor problems along the way, one or two that sent the air around me blue at the time, and a family bereavement.

It was a busy year socially as well as all things writing-related, not to mention my 'other job'. In the last twelve months, I've been fortunate enough to attend book launches, have one of my own, be interviewed for magazine articles, been on the radio twice, taken part in World Book Night, met and spoken to readers in Kent libraries. I've been invited to book clubs, been on panels at First Fictions in West Dean and at Brighton's Dark and Stormy, given after breakfast talks, after lunch talks and after dinner talks, and I've spoken to children at their school. I was invited to all of these things, in case you were wondering. Otherwise the school one would be especially worrying.

I've loved it all and I've met some brilliant people along the way but what made 2014 particularly pleasant was two lovely holidays with my husband, the weddings of friends and relatives, my mother-in-law's eightieth birthday celebrations, friends having babies, finding a new pub and ending the year there with my husband.

The last sentence isn't strictly true as we decided that going out to see the new year in was a little bit raucous for us, so we had lunch there and were at home by 2.30pm. I make no excuses - it's been a busy year and I needed a siesta.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Never-Forget-Lisa-Cutts-ebook/dp/B00CCTWR8U/ref=tmm_kin_title_0

Scones, cream and a seal sanctuary

Last week was spent in Tintagel on the north Cornish coast. What a beautiful place it is too.

The weather held out and we sat eating many fantastic lunches in the sun, drinking Cornish beer in the evening and sampling local seafood.

Due to a dental emergency - I can't say enough good things about St Austell Community Hospital and the NHS helpline - I was dosed up with antibiotics, so spent most of the week on the wagon.

And still I managed to enjoy myself. I think it gives you some idea of what a great week it was.

One evening we met some old friends for a meal at Widemouth Bay. It has a beautiful beach and watched the sun set as we chomped through fish and chips (no, the tooth wasn't that bad). It was a great way to spend the last night of our holiday.

My favourite day out was the Seal Sanctuary at Gweek. I have a bit of a soft spot for seals and it was such a pleasure to spend some time there, hearing about the care and welfare of them. I even eavesdropped on a conversation some of the staff were having as I queued for a Cornish pasty (ok, so it wasn't that painful to eat). The staff were talking about the animals they were looking after in such a caring way, and how they didn't blame them if they bit now and again - they were only frightened.

If you're in the area and get a chance, pay it a visit. You won't be disappointed.

We stayed at the fantastic fully equipped Gilbert Lodge in Bossiney Bay, a short walk from Tintagel where I even managed to get some writing done. Information and bookings here

Blog Tour and writing processes

Many thanks to Adrian Magson for asking me to take part in this blog tour. It's something I've never been a part of before, and other than my gratitude to him for the invite, I'm also really pleased he explained to me exactly what I had to do.
Adrian is the author of 16 spy and crime thrillers, short fiction anthologies and writes book reviews for Shots magazine. In addition, he also writes a column for Writing Magazine which I had the pleasure of appearing in last April. Adrian Magson




What am I currently working on?

Remember, Remember is the second book in the Nina Foster series and is due to go to print on Tuesday 27th May 2014. It has been intense finishing the editing straight after completing Never Forget but worth the hard work. I am thinking of starting another police procedural series, but have to confess, I've done no more than think about it. I'm certainly not leaving Nina Foster behind. She's here to stay.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

As a serving police officer who investigates murders for a living, my books have an authenticity about them. Everything that happens in the books could happen in real life, and if I was working on an actual murder, the working practices and procedures I use in my job as a detective constable, are the same as the ones I write about in my books.

Why do I write what I do?

Murder investigations are fascinating and people are intrigued about the work of police officers. I wanted to write accurate crime fiction with believable police characters, and most importantly of all, I was desperate to show the team work involved. It's not about one lone detective doing everything, but a team of dozens and every murder investigation will involve in excess of two hundred police officers and police civilian employees to bring it to a successful conclusion.

How does your writing process work?

I have to make myself sit down and get on with it. Working full-time and often unpredictable hours means that I write when I find the time. It's never been a case of setting a target for a number of words or writing on particular days of the week or times of the day.
Once I have the first draft, I ask my husband to read it. He's good at spotting errors and will say if something doesn't read quite right. It's then a matter of taking a deep breath and sending it to my publishers to wait for the editing to begin...


Next week Caroline Mitchell is taking over. She is the author of the fantastic Paranormal Intruder, a true life story of paranormal activity in a family's home.
You can catch up with her on her blog here.